


Alone

by DarthChocolate



Category: Titans (TV 2018), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, rate teen for abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:47:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22599586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarthChocolate/pseuds/DarthChocolate
Summary: With the end of season 2, here is my take of how Miss Martian could be included in season 3. It also introduces Karen Beecher, Mal Ducan and Roy Harper into the season (since rumor is they will be in season 3 too).
Relationships: Superboy/Miss Martian
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

S.T.A.R. Labs, San Francisco branch

Scientist Wanet Oya is alone with her thoughts most workdays. Technically, it’s not just her thoughts bouncing around in her head. Every person’s thought in the room were available to her. She sensed her fellow scientists’ fatigue and frustration. This doesn’t lessen her feelings of loneliness and fear.

Director Sarah Charles approached her. “Dr. Waneta Oya, this is your new assistant Karen Beecher.” She placed her hand on the assistant’s shoulder. “Welcome to the team.” She walked away from them.

“ _Please don’t be a pompous jerk.”_ Karen begged inside her mind. “ _I’m stuck with you for at least two years.”_

“Hi,” Waneta reached out her hand. “Actually, I see us more as partners.”

 _“This had definite possibilities.”_ Karen thought. She shook Waneta’s hand, “really?”

“Yeah, I figure we would collaborate together on a project fifty percent of the time. With your talent in mechanical engineering and mine in bioengineering, we would both have our own pet projects.”

“That’s a great idea.” Karen agreed. They dived right into their first assignment. She found this unexpected, “a metahuman gun?”

“Local law enforcement and the federal government have contracted with us to confront the metahuman threat.” It was also the secret reason for Waneta’s employment. What better way to learn about the enemies’ strength and weakness than through research and development?

“From the mission statement, they don’t want to confront metahumans. They want to terminate metahumans. It’s wrong. No matter how altered they are, they’re still human beings. Our first inclination shouldn’t be to kill them even if they are dangerous.” Karen meant every word of it. This warmed Waneta’s heart. She wished more beings from where she came from felt that way. They chose to focus on nonlethal weapons.

Waneta enjoyed working alongside her. She couldn’t get close to Karen or anyone. It wasn’t safe for either of them.

 _“Wow, he’s hot.”_ Waneta didn’t need telepathy to know what she was thinking. It was written all over Karen’s face. “Who’s he?”

“Malcolm Duncan,” Waneta grinned. “He is one of our security guards.” She called out to him. “Hey Mal, do you want some of our sushi?”

“Any Boston rolls?”

“We have Dragon rolls?” Waneta held it up in the air.

“Works for me,” he snatched it and joined them. He talked to them about his time in the Detroit Police Department. He came to work here after being overlooked for a promotion for the third time.

“I sort of know how you feel,” Karen confessed. “After my mentor Elinore Stone died, I became a lab floater. I would assist everyone in the lab with their experiments. It was supposed to be temporary, until her husband, our department head, gave me a position. I didn’t mind waiting a few months. It had been six months with no answer. So, I went to him to discuss it. He offered me a temp job of an assistant to an assistant or to be a secretary.”

“Ouch, you really did have to transfer.” Mal sympathized with her. “He didn’t give you much of a choice.”

Despite their unfortunate personal stories, they had a nice chat and got along well. Waneta expected her and Karen to have a girl talk once he left. She had never experience one of those before. Waneta saw it happen on tv. Karen surprised her. “Is everything ok? You seemed really quiet during our conversation. Are you uncomfortable talking in a group?”

“Oh no, I’m fine. It’s fine.” Waneta quickly assured her. “I’ve just lived a boring life. Most of my life is about science.”

“Have you ever had a boyfriend before?”

“No, I’ve never gotten that far. I flirted a few times, but…”

“But what?”

“The one boy, that I liked, talked mean to me. The other boy broke my arm and punched me in the face.”

 _“Girl,”_ Karen stared at her silently. _“What psychopaths were you surrounded by?”_

Her concerns were sweet. Waneta was somewhat relieved that Karen didn’t scrutinize it more. She simply figured that Waneta made bad choices in men. Waneta scolded herself for mentioning it. She was supposed to stick to the script. What if Karen accidently got a hold of her medical records? She would learn there is no report of Waneta ever receiving an injury like that. Waneta couldn’t have anyone looking too closely at her. The others would be livid if they found out.

A few days went by, Waneta became less worried about it. Karen remained nice to her. She even invited Waneta to hang out with her and her friend to see a movie or go shopping. Waneta declined her offer. _“You’re a freak and a monster.”_ A voice in Waneta’s head told her. _“Anyone who see the real you will either run in terror or plunge a sword through your chest. You know me. I always favor the carnage option.”_ Waneta tried to drown out the cruel voice by listening to other people’s thoughts as she walked through town. It was safer to travel by foot. She could hide and evade easier.

She liked walking through the park. There was so much vegetation unlike her home. Her home was harsh and mostly barren terrain. Though, the people here were sometimes painfully indistinguishable to the ones back home. She heard the all too familiar group of people mocking the one sole person. Their minds made her cringe. The lone guy’s mind was different. It was special like northern lights in the night’s sky.

Without fully realizing it, Waneta altered her appearance. She decreased her age. She changed her clothes, and her hair from black to red. She bolted to his direction. The other men had already departed away from the basketball court. He was about to leave with his dog too. She grabbed the discarded ball. “Do you want to play?”

The black-haired young man regarded her a bit startled. “You don’t want to play with me. It’s not safe.”

He had bent the metal pole of the basketball hoop. This had freaked out the other men. She gripped the metal pole. “It’s alright.” She bent it back in place. “I’m not very safe either. Unless, you’re scared to lose.”

He was timid at first. Gradually, he began to relax and let loose. There was no one to judge them. The courts were empty. He noticed that she was fast and strong like him. He didn’t have to be afraid of hurting her. He enjoyed her playful teasing. When she stuck out her tongue, a memory of a woman named Lois popped into his head. It wasn’t his memory. He was just happy that it wasn’t a bad memory. “That was fun. So, who won?”

“I don’t know.” It felt amazing to be honest. She didn’t have to worry about him evaluating her. “I’ve never played basketball before.”

“Me neither.” He touched his face. “Oh no, I lost them.” He scanned the terrain. “Found them.” He picked up his glasses.

“Hypnotic glasses that slightly alter people’s perception of your appearance. That’s useful.”

“How do you know about that?” His eyes widened. “Are you part of Cadmus?”

“No never,” she saw images of the evil organization flash in front of his eyes. “The glasses don’t work on me. I can’t really talk about my powers. It’s a secret.”

“I can keep a secret.” His dog barked at him. “Ok, we can keep a secret.”

“It’s not saying that.” She kneeled down to the dog and stared at its’ collar. “Sorry, he is asking for food.”

“I’m hungry too. There is some food at our home if you want.”

“Actually, I was thinking that we could go out to eat.” She blushed slightly.

“Do you have any money?”

She pulled out a credit card from her wallet. “Plastic money.”

“Cool.”

She gestured for him to follow her. He walked along side her. “I noticed his name is Krypto. What’s your name?”

“Conner, I guess. Yours?”

“Ah hmm…” She hadn’t thought of a name for this identity. “Megan.”

“That’s a nice name.”

“Thanks.” They headed to a restaurant and sat at an outside table. Krypto ate a plain cooked chicken. They had burgers, fries and milkshakes.

Conner inhaled all of his apple pie milkshake in seconds. “Ow, my head hurts.”

“It’s a brain freeze. I have one too. That’s what the tv show called it.”

“Gar says you can’t believe everything that’s on tv.”

“Why would they lie?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged his shoulders.

“Maybe, the tv shows like to make up stories of something better.” He observed how her voice lingered at the end. She rose to her feet. “Anyway, I need to be leaving soon for work.”

Conner grabbed her arm. “Is something wrong?”

“I can see you again tomorrow morning.”

He let go of her, “ok.”

She rubbed Krypto’s head. “Bye,” she waved to them.


	2. Chapter 2

Cadmus had used mind control on Gar and Conner. Their teammates broke them free of the control. Yet, it still weighed heavily on Gar’s mind. Conner wasn’t as concerned about it. He had other more pressing matters to deal with. “Lex Luthor strangled his cousin Benny to death. He loathed him.”

“You have that memory dancing around in your head.” Gar felt bad for Conner being stuck with someone’s else evil act in his mind.

Dick was ever the detective first. “It must have been an early crime, since Luthor strives to keep his hands clean now. Any idea, why he hated his cousin?”

“Nope.”

“Still,” Dick reasoned. “I should look into it. Criminals tend to be sloppier with their earlier crimes.”

Of course, Conner wouldn’t be involved in the investigation. He wasn’t allowed on missions until he gained more control. After his first disastrous mission, it had been decided that Conner needed more training. With everyone out on assignments, Conner spent most of time alone. He went over practice materials. After a few days, he got sick of being in the house. He took Krypto out for a walk in the park. He saw some guys playing basketball and joined them. The game was over fast. Conner accidently bent the pole and freaked out when a memory of Superman’s flashed in front of his eyes. Apparently, Superman had a difficult time controlling his power as a kid. He once pulverized his friend’s Pete’s basketball. Conner wished that he had the memories of how Superman learned to control his powers. Conner was about to retreat back to the house in defeat. Then, Megan showed up. She was fun and made him feel normal. She was kind. His gut told him that she was in trouble. He hoped Gar had returned from his mission already. He needed someone to talk to.

Half human had one huge drawback. Sleep. Though not a lot of sleep was needed, he still hated it. Most of his dreams were nightmares or confusing. He couldn’t avoid it any longer. The dream wasn’t his that night. It had again one of Luthor’s memories. A bunch of bullies knocked down Lex’s books and project for English onto the floor. Lex scrambled to gather his belongings from the hallways as the bell rang for class. The new girl came over to assist him. Lex didn’t know much about her except she seemed shy and wore stupid large wristbands around her bicep.

“I don’t want your help or pity.”

She handed him his stuff back. “We can’t let those jerks win.” She carefully lifted up on one of her wristbands. Under it was several burns. She promptly yanked the back down and rushed to class. He took his stuff and hurried to class.

After school was over, he awkwardly introduced himself. “Your French is adequate. I’m Lex Luthor.”

“Uda Hale,” she smiled a little.

“You’re not from around here. Are you?”

“I moved here from New York.”

“Smallville must be a letdown compared to life in the city.”

Her voice was indifferent, “depends on what part of the city you live in.”

“I’m going to live in the best part.”

“I think you will.”

The dream flashed forward to Clark dragging Lex to school debate team celebration of their victory. Pete Ross’ father had paid for the whole team to eat at Uncle Lar’s Pizza. Clark Kent sat next to Pete Ross and Lana Lang. Lex got stuck by Troy Turner and Whitney Fordman. Both guys at one point or another had bullied Lex before. He pretended to go to the bathroom in order to escape. Unfortunately, the only exit to be found was a fire escape with an alarm. He was still tempted to do it.

“Hey, do want to get out of here?” Uda spotted him eyeing the exit.

“Yeah,” Lex noticed the broom in her hand. “Do you work here?”

“Three days a week,” she confirmed. “Come on.” They entered the kitchen. “I’m taking my break.”

“Be back before the dinner rush,” her boss yelled.

Una guided Lex through to the back entrance. “You have your own motorcycle?” He was impressed.

“I wish. It’s my foster mom’s current boyfriend’s bike.”

“He lets you ride it?”

“I’m pretty sure. He still thinks it’s broken.” She gave him a helmet. “Anyway, do you want me to drop you off home?” His expression soured, “or you can come to my house?”

“Ok.” The wind rushed at them as they zoomed along on the bike. It made Lex uneasy. Conner loved it.

The next morning, Conner woke upbeat. A good night’s sleep and the prospect of seeing Megan again made him happy. He took Krypto out to find her. She was standing in line at a Sundollar café. She beamed at him. “Hi, I’m just getting an iced coffee and a bagel. Do you want anything?”

“Sure …” He gave her helpless expression. There were too many options on the menu. Megan brought a blueberry bagel for him and a cinnamon raisin bagel for herself. “What do you want to do today?”

She stopped nibbling on her bagel for a second. “I don’t know.”

“Have you ever played football?”

“No.”

“Let’s do that.”

“I know a field that we can play in.” Megan led him and Krypto to an abandon airport. It was perfect. Conner and Krypto could run around without any restraint.

After he threw the football into a tree, he immediately wished that he had shown some control. “Sorry.” They stared down at the demolished ball.

“It’s ok. I’ve got another activity for us.” She seemed unfazed by it. She beckoned him over to a strange looking metal tree. “I guess it would be called a ‘balance pole’ in your language. My people use it for basic combat training. My father taught me and my siblings with it.”

“Is your father a good person?”

“He was a great man. He was kind and brave.” Megan squeezed her eyes shut to hold back her tears. “It’s simple. This symbol means soft. If you hit it too hard, it will make a sound. This symbol means medium like the force needed to knock someone across the room without shattering all their bones.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, ah, the last one is hard. You must hit it with enough power to punch through a brick wall.”

Conner scratched his head. “Are you sure? Last time, I tried something like this. I broke the punching bag.”

“Trust me. This is a lot tougher,” she giggled.

He hit it the pole full strength, and it still kept standing. It had been frustrating in the beginning, but he gradually got the hang of it. “This is cool. Can I practice on later?”

“Sure, the others don’t use it. I’ll leave it here, so you can practice any time. Let’s get some cupcakes before I have to go. There is a shop with a huge selection of cupcakes.” Everything was going great until they got caught in the rain midway. They rushed over to the bus stop for cover. “Maybe, we should go somewhere closer.” She pushed her hair away from her face.

Suddenly, a guy bumped into Conner, and it triggered a memory of Lex being harassed in the locker room. Conner cowered back.

 _“It isn’t real. It’s not your memory. Remember who you are and where you are at.”_ He heard her pleading to him. As he shook off the memory, he noticed her lips weren’t moving. _“Everything is ok. You’re ok.”_

“You’re telepathic!”

Megan put her finger on his lips. _“Shh, I am. Please don’t say that out loud. You’re a clone?”_

_“I’m a clone of Superman and Lex Luthor. How did you know that?”_

_“Your blood memories,”_ She removed her finger _._

_“You mean my Epigenetic knowledge?”_

_“A different name for something that they don’t fully understand and completely overlooked. No wonder, you have uncontrollable memory flashes.”_ She was clearly annoyed. _“They should have stabilized your mind.”_

_“Can you stabilize my mind?”_

_“I don’t know… my grandmother could, but she’s dead. The Fluxaeons have the technology to do it. Even if I flew you there, it will probably be more confusing than helpful.”_

_“The Fluxaeons?”_

_“They’re an alien species.”_

_“Are you an alien?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Awesome.”_

Megan gently touched the side of his face and closed her eyes. _“Thankfully, you don’t any mental damage or deterioration. I can’t fix your mind. I can teach you techniques to control your memory flashes if you want.”_

 _“Yes definitely,”_ Conner grabbed her hand.

_“Ok, I’ll take you to our apartment. We can practice there.”_

He sensed her leeriness. “ _What’s wrong?_ ”

 _“Nothing. The others are out on their assignments. We’ll have the place to ourselves.”_ Before they entered the apartment complex, Megan changed forms. They went past a doorman and two security guards at the lobby desk. She opened the door to the apartment and flicked on the lights.

“It’s empty.” Conner glanced around the room.

“Appearance can be deceiving.” She waved her hand in the air. Weird alien weapons and computers appeared. She switched back to her Megan form. Krypto whined. “Oh, I have something in my room that you can lay on.” Her room was very different than the main room and the other adjoining rooms. All her equipment looked organic except for strange spear. She plucked a leaf from an alien bush and pressed down on it. The leaf transformed into a fluffy thick rug. She tossed it on the floor for Krypto to sit on.

“There is no furniture in here. Where do you sleep?”

“On the floor,” Megan sat down. “The commander thought the luxury of furniture would make us weak. I didn’t have any say in it. Sorry,” she tapped on the floor in front of her.

Conner sat down. “It’s ok.”

“I’m going to assess a painful memory.” She stretched out her hand towards him. “Remember your mind can’t harm you unless you let it. I’ll take care of you. Are you ready to begin?”

“Yes,” he watched her as she closed her eyes and touched his head. Suddenly, Conner was in the Luthor farmhouse, and Lionel was about to strike him. Conner waited for the hit. The man just stood there frozen in place.

“ _Look down at your hands and arms.”_ He could hear her voice, but he couldn’t see her anywhere. “ _What do they look like?”_

“They’re small and thin. They’re not my hands.”

_“Right! Now, close your eyes. Tell me what you’re feeling and smelling.”_

“I feel wet. My hand is wet.”

_“Krypto is licking it. Can you smell him?”_

“Yes.”

_“Open your eyes. Can you see him or me in the room?”_

“No.”

_“That’s because none of this is real. You’re not a helpless small boy. You’re a man who can bend steel bars with his bare hands. You can defeat him. I’m going to unfreeze the memory. I want you to grab his arm and stop him.”_

“Ok,” Conner confidently did it. Afterward, the memory shattered, and he was back staring at Megan in her room.

“Bad memories, nightmares and even mental illusions have set limits.” Megan stood up. “Once you realize they’re not real, they can’t control you.” She held out her hand to help him up. “My mother advised us to find a something off or remember where you are. It will help you to maintain control of your mind.” He rose by himself. They promptly left the apartment. Outside, she thought to him. _“You must not tell anyone that I’m alien or that I have telepathic powers. Please don’t come back here. It’s not safe.”_

He held her hand. _“My friends and I can protect you.”_

_“They aren’t afraid of you. I’m alright. Don’t worry. I have to be leaving. Please promise me that you won’t tell anyone.”_

He let go of her hand. _“I promise.”_ As he watched her walk away, a memory of Clark begging Pete Ross popped into his head. Clark begged him not to tell anyone about his powers because he feared the consequences. Did Megan share the same fear? All Conner knew was that she was in trouble, and he desperately wanted help her.


	3. Chapter 3

In Gabriel’s Horn club, Karen Beecher waited along side her new boyfriend Malcom Duncan for his friend Roy Harper to show up. Karen ordered another Soder Cola. “I’m worried about Dr. Oya. She’s seeing some new guy.”

“Are you worried that she might slack off in her work?” Mal tried to not check his watch for the ninth time.

She lowered her voice. “Dr. Oya has had abusive boyfriends in the past. She won’t let me meet him or even tell who he is. I don’t want her to get hurt again.”

“I’ll keep an eye on her.” Mal was relieved when Roy finally showed up. “Hey, what took you so long?”

“A new client,” Roy strangely chose to remain standing by the table. “Actually, I could use yours and S.T.A.R. Labs help on this.”

“You know we can’t –“

Roy interrupted him, “A woman’s life depends on this. This isn’t something that the police can handle. We’re her only hope.”

They snuck Roy into the lab after hours. He gave them a flash drive. They played the footage. It had been of a woman with her two small children at a supermarket parking lot. She puts her children in the car and proceeds to toss her groceries into the trunk. All of a sudden, she stops and walks away from the car. They zoomed in and examined every frame of the footage. They couldn’t determine a trigger for the woman’s bizarro reaction. Roy sighed, “sorry guys. It seems that I risked your jobs for nothing.”

“Wait,” Karen yanked out the flash drive. “Let me try some different frequencies tests.” She plugged into a different device. She tuned the image to different wave lengths until one lit up. “Wow!”

“I’ll take it that wasn’t supposed to happen.” Roy remarked.

“No, people aren’t supposed to emit low levels of solar radiation.” She rewound the footage. “It started out as a small circle on her neck. It quickly expanded all over her body and vanished.”

“It didn’t vanish. It stabilized and took over her body.” Waneta entered the room.

“I know how this looks, Dr. Oya. I can explain.”

Roy ignored Karen. “Do you know what it is?”

“An alter scarab,” Waneta went on to explain. “We were researching scarabs in our labs at Austin, Texas. My colleagues believed it to be of ancient Egyptian origin. I believe it came from an alien race called the Reach. They used the scarab to take control of a being’s body. The device used on the woman seems to be created by a possible second alien party. It was probably adapted to fit a client’s certain objective. Beyond that, I don’t know.”

“How did you discover any of this?” Karen was intrigued.

“Cave drawings,” Waneta came closer to them. “There was a DNA code inscribed on part of it and details of the scarab’s capabilities. It’s going to be difficult to remove the device from off her.” She stared at the screen sadly, “without killing her.”

Roy took the intel to an old contact of his, who handled situation like this. Mal and Karen were thrilled that Waneta didn’t report them to the director. Karen showed Waneta her secret project. “What do you think?”

“You’re creating a suit like the Atom’s?” Waneta inspected the hardware.

“It won’t be shrinking to the atomic level. It will only reach as small as a bee, I guess.”

Waneta reviewed the blueprints. “I can’t give you much feedback. You should probably consult with Cisco Ramon at our Central City branch. However, you should recalibrate this part. It might cause undue stress on the user’s heart.”

“Thanks, will do.” Karen enthusiastically worked on completing her shrinking suit.

That day, Mal also started his side project of tailing Waneta until he finds her new love interest. On the third day of shadowing her, he observed Waneta talking to some guy. More precisely, they were in a heated argument. The argument turned violent as he pushed her against a wall and broke her arm. Mal jumped out of his car and ran towards them. They seemed to have vanished into thin air before he could reach them. He sent a recording of the fight to Roy, so he could id the guy.

Roy contacted him and asked Mal to meet him at his friend Richard Grayson’s house. Mal waved at the door camera and was buzzed in. He was taken to a security room, which had several monitors. Dick flashed an image onto the screen. “Is this the guy that you saw outside of her apartment?”

“Yeah, that’s the creep.” Mal confirmed.

“This is Mickey Cannon. He was a security guard for Cadmus. He has been dead for a month.”

“No way,” Mal disputed Dick. “I just saw him yesterday.”

“You’re not the only one fooled. He has been attending Mr. Cannon’s job for the last month. They discovered the real Mr. Cannon’s body this morning. They believe the imposter was involved in a theft of Cadmus’ supplies.” Dick spun his chair around. “Why were you investigating him?”

“My girlfriend was worried that Dr Oya’s new boyfriend might be abusive. Dr. Oya did refuse to mention his name or allow anyone to meet him. She did tell Karen that she had a history of picking lousy guys. It seems that we were right to worry.”

“Can you contact Dr. Oya? We need to talk to her.”

Mal yanked out his cell phone and texted Karen. She texted him back. “Dr. Oya isn’t at work today, and she isn’t answering her phone.”

“Do you know where she lives?”

Dick, Mal and Roy drove to her apartment. Dick picked her lock. As expected, she wasn’t home. Dick filed through her mail and planner. Roy shuffled through her drawers. Mal scrolled down her contact list on her cell phone. “Do you think this guy kidnapped her?”

“It’s doubtful.” Dick dumped over her trash can and examined the contains of it. “Both of them worked at research and development companies. Both had bogus ids.”

“She isn’t Waneta Oya?” Mal didn’t want to believe it. “Is the real one dead too?”

“Thankfully no, her alias is completely fabricated.” Dick found nothing useful in her trash. As he got up, he saw two pictures missing from her photo collage on her wall. “Do you have any idea what those missing photos were of?”

“I’ve never been in her apartment before. I’ll see if it correlates with her cell's photo gallery.” Mal clicked through her phone.

Roy walked out of her bedroom. “Well, she took all her clothes and ran.”

“The photos were of us volunteering at a soup kitchen. She didn’t run. It doesn’t make sense.” Mal argued. “She volunteered almost weekly at soup kitchens and animal shelters. She donated some of her money to them. A theft doesn’t give away money and also doesn’t have a decent paying job. I don’t think she’s involved in this. At least, not willingly.”

“She lied.” Roy pointed at a photo on the wall. “She lied about her identity and about Texas. She never worked in the S.T.A.R. Labs there.”

“Her intel was right.” Dick glanced behind the tv and under lamps. “We still don’t know how she knew the aliens were called the Reach. There was no way to tell from the cave drawings. She and her partner are up to something big.”

Mal gestured to her cell. “We all saw that guy shove her back and break her arm. That isn’t an ally. That’s a hostage.”

“She didn’t scream out in pain, Mal. I’m a trained fighter and have been in dozens of brawls. I would have cried out.” Roy gripped Mal’s shoulder. “That makes her not normal and dangerous.”

Dick and Roy went back to their base to investigate it more. They recommended that Mal head home. He begrudgingly agreed. Of course, he called Karen with an update once he made it home. She hadn’t been pleased with Roy’s assessment of Waneta’s involvement. Mal didn’t like it either. It meant Roy would be inclined to go in with guns blazing. Honestly, he would use arrows more than guns. Mal hated it when his fellow cops would go in trigger happy. Dick said that you have to look at the situation with an open mind. Mal felt the first priority in any case would be to protect even the perpetrators. Waneta didn’t feel like a criminal. He wasn’t going to drop this case. Someone had to be open for best case scenario.

He was about to call it a night until he found a large box on his bed. There was an envelope on top of it. Mal slid out the letter and read it.

“ _Mal,_

_The second alien party, who made the device to control the woman at the supermarket, are called Psions. I don’t know who hired them. They were paid with a group of human test subjects. Karen is going to need your help to save them. I brought you something that should help. Please don’t search for me. There are other people that need your help more than me._

_Waneta”_

Mal’s jaw dropped after he opened the box. His phone rang. He heard Karen’s voice on the other end. “I know this sounds strange, but I think a group of people have been kidnapped by aliens.”

“Actually, that isn’t the weirdest thing to happen today.” He stared down in awe at the Guardian’s suit in the box.


	4. Chapter 4

“Not that commercial again with the annoying song!” Gar groaned at the tv.

Conner sat next to him on the reclining chair. “Why is it annoying?”

“The high pitch squeal and dumb lyrics. It’s stuck in my head. I can’t get it out.”

A similar problem was going on in Conner’s mind. His uncontrol rage was triggered by Lex Luthor’s memory of killing his cousin Benny. The memory wouldn’t stop popping up in his mind. Lex’s unbridled rage and his sick pleasure at killing his cousin with his own hands had been annoying and tormenting Conner. Even when he got a different memory of Luthor’s, it wasn’t much better such as the memory of Lex, his father, his aunt, and his cousin at dinner together.

Lionel relished praising his cousin. “Why can’t you be more like Benny, Lex? He is the top in all of his classes, and he volunteers in the hospital. Benny is such a handsome good boy.” Handsome meant that he had a lush head of hair, and he wasn’t a bald freak like Lex. This frustrated Lex, since it was his father’s experiment which caused his hair loss. Lionel knew his son was self-conscious about being bald. Yet, his father constantly belittled him about it.

“Lex is bright too. No doubt, he will still attend an elite college like his sister.” Lex would have taken his aunt’s compliment more seriously if he didn’t know the truth about her. His aunt was a stupid gullible woman who had no clue about the goings on in her own house. She totally believed her husband worked at the bank for a living instead of robbing banks. His late-night meetings were his affairs with various women, which she knew nothing about.

“He’ll only go to college if I pay for it. I’ll probably have to pay extra for him to get accepted not like my Lena.” Lionel amended. In his eyes, Lex could never measure up to himself or his sister.

These memories made Conner’s skin crawl. He wished that he wasn’t cursed with them. He glanced at the time and became happily distracted. “I’m out of here.”

“Where are you going?” Gar leaned over the back of the couch.

“Megan and I are going to the beach.”

Gar saw how big Conner’s grin was and hoped it didn’t drop as he asked, “can I come?”

“Sure.”

Gar and Rose Wilson went with him to the beach. Megan was there holding a large shopping bag. She gave the bag to Conner. “I brought four different bathing suits. I hope you like one of them.”

“I’ll try them on.” He eagerly started pulling one of them out.

Gar quickly grabbed Conner’s arm. “We’ll go get changed in the bathroom. We’ll be right back.”

Megan laid out some folding chairs on the sand as the guys went to get changed. Rose plopped down on a chair. “So, are you after him for his body?”

“I don’t understand.” Megan looked at her.

Rose pushed up her sunglasses. “Do you think Conner is hot?”

“Honestly, I’m attracted to his mind.”

“Sure,” Rose uttered sarcastically. She rested her head against the chair.

The guys emerged. Gar called out. “Ready for a swim?”

“Nope, I’m good where I’m at.” Rose closed her eyes.

Megan joined them in the water. The three of them swam around for a while until Gar got hungry. He jumped out of the water. “They have that new tofu hotdog stand over there. Anyone want any food?”

“Do they have any real hotdogs?” Rose derided him.

“Yes,” Gar grimaced slightly. “They do.”

“I’ll take a meat hotdog.” Conner waved his hand.

“I’ll have a tofu one.” Megan sat down. “They sound neat.”

Gar walked over to the stand. Conner took the chair next to Megan. He thought, “ _Megan?”_

“ _Yeah. Wait, did you want me to respond?”_ Megan fretted. “ _My mother told me that not every species favors mental communication.”_

 _“I really do want to talk with you in private.”_ Conner sensed her relief and happiness. _“I have this problem. You had showed me how to fight off a bad memory. How do I keep it from popping into my mind?_

 _“That’s complicated.”_ Megan moved her chair closer to him. “ _Your mind might be trying to determine something. Once you figure it out, it will stop.”_

_“It’s not that.”_

_“There could be an outside source causing the memory to reappear. Many evil beings use bad memories to exert control over someone. One sec, I’ll check.”_ She closed her eyes and held his hand. _“Sorry nothing. Ok, hmmm… It could be a simple mild trauma. You could use another memory to sooth your mind until it’s strong enough to cope.”_

_“How do I do that?”_

_“Is the troubling memory yours or someone else?”_

_“Lex Luthor’s.”_

_“Alright, if there is a less awful memory of his, it would be the best choice to use.”_

_“The memory about Uda was ok. I’ve tried to remember more about it. I can’t seem to recall any more.”_

_“What is the last part of the memory?”  
“Lex was riding on her motorcycle with her to go to her house.” _The corresponding memory appeared in his mind. It was a rundown old two-story farmhouse. Three small children were playing outside as Lex and Uda rode in.

“Is that your brothers and sister?” Lex stepped off the bike.

“My foster brothers and sister.” Uda yelled out to them. “Come inside! I’ll make you lunch!”

Lex kept his distance as Uda made sandwiches for the kids in the kitchen. While the kids ate, Uda showed Lex her bedroom. The walls were covered in maps and pictures of other countries. He picked up a small book, “you know Cantonese?”

“A little Cantonese, some Italian and Spanish,” she sat down her bed. She patted on the bed for him to join her.

Lex chose to sit on the chair by her desk. “You were able to use those languages in New York. You can’t really use them here.”

“That was one benefit. Here have some positives too.”

He figured out of the pros. “Did your father or mother hurt you?”

“My father was a one-night stand. I never knew him. My grandmother raised me until my mom met Mr. Wonderful. He was a charming man with a nice job. We moved in with him. For a few years, our life was good in the suburbs. They eventually got married, and mom was pregnant with my soon to be brother. Then, my stepdad’s company went under. He struggled to find work. My mom got pregnant again. He and my mom drown their sorrows in boozes. When that wasn’t strong enough, they turned to drugs. Their friends helped hook them up.” Uda pulled up one of her wristbands. “Their great friends liked to hang out and get stone in our house. One guy thought it was hysterical to burn me with his cigarette butts. Mom was equally high as a kite and did nothing to stop him. After that and the used needles in my baby sister’s cradle, I took my brother and her out of there.”

“What happen to your siblings?”

“They said it was lotto jackpot rare for foster parents to want three children. They were planning to toss me and my brother to an overburden foster family. My baby sister was going to be placed with this snobby couple. In the DCF office, I saw this really nice couple who wanted to adopt. I think the wife had seizures, so they had stuck the couple’s request on the bottom of the stack. I might have foraged some paperwork in order for my brother and sister to be adopted by them. They're good people. I could check in on my sibling whenever I wanted. I used to visit them once every two weeks. The overburden foster family that I was placed with was finally inspected. All the kids were placed in different families. That’s how I came here to Smallville far from my brother and sister. I can still call them. My brother Perseus dreams of becoming a doctor when he grows up.”

“You took care of them?” The idea sounded so foreign to Lex.

“Of course, it’s how I learnt Cantonese. I worked off the books for a Chinese restaurant. It paid for our food and sometimes our clothes. Do you have any siblings?”

“Just my sister,” Lex mentioned bitterly. “She would never take care of or protect me.”

“I used to lock the door and barricade it with a chair to keep us safe. We weren’t truly safe until we told the cops about my parents’ drug use. My mom almost chanted everyday to me how it was hopeless, and we were doomed. It felt great escaping from her. You can escape too. You just have to tell the police about your father’s cruelty. I’ll come with you to talk them if you want. You’re not alone anymore.” She reached out her hand to him.

Lex recoiled away. “It’s not that bad.”

“Well, if it ever gets worse, I’m here rain or shine as my grandmother liked to say.”

Strangely, Lex and Uda stayed there perfectly still. It took a few second for Conner to realize that Megan had paused the memory. Megan materialized her and Conner into the memory. “We have to be careful. I sense another strong memory attached here.”

“How dangerous is that?” Conner rose from the desk to follow her.

Megan touched the poster of Rome. “Strong memories have strong emotions tied to them. It can feel like a mountain is crashing down on us. Are you sure that you’re ready for this?”

“I am.”

“Oh, we’re going to have to postpone it. Your friends are calling for us.”

As they opened their eyes, they heard Rose snicker, “it’s time to wake up, lovebirds.” They realized at the same time, that Megan had been laying on top of Conner. She quickly got off and returned to her own beach chair. Gar gave them both a hotdog before he munched down on his tofu one.

Megan apologized telepathically. _“I’m sorry. I must have move over during –“_

 _“You didn’t,”_ Conner interrupted. _“I pulled you over to me.”_

“ _Why did you do that?”_

_“Lex doesn’t like to be touched. I do.”_

_“Did you want to touch Uda?”_

_She seems nice, but no.”_ He admitted. _“I wanted to hold you, Megan.”_

Megan’s face turned a deeper shade of red. “ _M’gann. My real name is M’gann M’orzz. Please don’t –“_

 _“Tell anyone,”_ Conner finished. “ _I won’t.”_

During their meal, Gar attempted to have a casual conversation with M’gann about her life. She made up a backstory of growing up in an isolated village. Her parents studied wildlife for a living. She gained her super strength in her teens. Her family recently moved to the states. The story put Gar at ease about her agenda. She had told Conner that it was all a lie and promised that she wasn’t here to hurt them. If they knew the truth about her, their lives would be endangered.

The team was satisfied with her respond and allowed Conner to hang out with her. Though, they kept a close eye on her. Conner had been allowed to invite M’gann to their movie night. Gar wanted to celebrate Rachel’s return unofficially. Conner watched as Gar reviewed their movies choices. “Too violent, a chick flick, dumb ending, too depressing, nope,” he picked three movies.

“You like Rachel?” Conner stood next to him.

“Yeah, she’s my friend.”

“She saved you from Cadmus’ mind control?”

“Yup, she did. She is a nice person. You’ll like her.”

“Her presences felt soothing, right?”

“I guess so. I hadn’t really … Wait, why are you –“ Before Gar could get an answer, the others arrived. Rose and Rachel carried in pizzas, while M’gann brought over some bags of potato chips.

They sat down and munched on the food as they watched their first movie. Conner glanced at Gar and Rachel, who were sitting in recliners at opposite sides of the room. “ _Why doesn’t he tell her that he likes her?”_

 _“Telepathic communications weren’t actually meant to be secret communications.”_ M’gann devoured her last garlic knot _. “Anyway, courtship rituals are confusing and complicated for most sentient lifeforms.”_

_“Even telepathies?”_

_“My mother told us stories of her complicated romance with my father. So, telepathies aren’t exempt from it either.”_

_“If it’s not for secret communications, then why do you read minds?”_

_“Back on my home world, we’re all telepathic. It’s how we normally communicate especially with family and friends.”_

It was more than mere communication. Conner determined telepathy had another layer to it. He watched the characters dance on the screen. Telepathy felt like that. It was if the two minds were holding each other in a dancing embrace. This sprung up a DNA memory.

Superman was a young man attending a school dance. “Clark look,” his girlfriend Lana, who he was dancing with, pointed, “Lex took Uda to the dance. They look happy together.”

Clark understood her astonishment. Lex didn’t get along with the girls well. He came off as an aloof jerk. Somehow, Uda got past Lex’s emotional barriers. Clark could see the warmth in Lex’s eyes as he gazed at Uda. It pained Clark because he didn’t feel that way for Lana.

The memory was brief. Conner didn’t miss much of the movie. He found the movie mostly confusing. He didn’t gasp the movie’s references. They weren’t as obvious as Gar excuse for why they had to leave during the movie. “We need to help Kory find her sister’s … cat.”

“Do you want me and Krypto to come?” Conner volunteered.

“No thanks. You know dogs will just scare away the cats.” Gar gestured him and M’gann. “Just stay here. We won’t be that long.”

 _“I really wish that I could tell that I already know,”_ Megan telepathically commented Conner. _“He wouldn’t have to fret about a cover story.”_

They remained and watched the end of the movie. Conner picked out “Milo and Otis” for their next movie. Halfway through the movie, he saw M’gann had fallen asleep. She didn’t look very comfortable sitting up like that on the couch. He was going to gently move her, so she would be laying flat on the couch. Once he touched her arm, his surrounding changed from the living room to somewhere else.

He didn’t know where he was, but it definitely wasn’t Earth. The ground was orangey red and almost barren of any vegetation. There were ice blue mountains in the distance. A dozen tiny aliens surrounded him. They were fierce looking with their large claws and fangs. The majority of them were green skinned. There were two or three that had white skin. Two larger aliens were watching over the little aliens. The large white alien told the group stories. One story had been about a warrior named Razer. His warrior’s heart burned a bright red after the death of his wife. He met a green warrior maiden. She gave him cool relief. His heart became a hopeful blue. When the white alien started mentioning their great healer grandmother and their priest grandfather, Conner realized this group was a family. The large white alien was the father, and the large green one was the mother.

The mother discussed various planets and species in the solar systems. The children were excited and wished to visit the different planets. One of the children asked, “can we visit Earth soon?”

“One day, M’gann, we’ll go visit that primitive planet.” The mother replied.

He was in M’gann’s mind. This is her memory of her family. The situation turned to dark. Green alien soldiers captured them. They brought M’gann family to a strange looking building. The inside of the building reminded him of Cadmus. They experimented on and killed most of her family. M’gann was able to break free and protect her two remaining siblings. She had the opportunity to kill one of her attackers. When she peered into his mind, she saw his family, his wife and his children. She couldn’t kill him. The attacker regretted his actions and planned to make amends.

The world turned further upside down. A white alien soldier stabbed the defenseless attacker in the back. More white alien soldiers poured inside. They slaughtered every green man, woman, and child in sight. It was a massive bloodbath. The leader of the white alien army proclaimed, no longer will we be oppressed or trampled on. We will rid the universe of the Green Martian scourge.” A soldier gave M’gann a blaster. She refused to use it. “Anyone who refuses to join our righteous cause will be branded a traitor. They will be thrown in the Flower of Wrath to suffer. Then, they will be executed.” The leader charged at her.

Conner knocked him back and stood defensively in front of M’gann. At first, she seemed confused. Slowly, her eyes lit up. “You’re not suppose to be here. You shouldn’t be here.”

They both woke up from her dream. M’gann rolled off the couch and hurried towards the door. Conner interceded before she could run out. He grabbed her arm. “ _Please, don’t leave me. I know you’re scared.”_

 _“You shouldn’t be in the middle of this disaster.”_ M’gann thought back to him. _“It’s dangerous. They’ll kill you and your friends.”_

 _“I understand.”_ Conner rubbed her arm. “ _I still don’t want to lose you.”_ She hesitated and bit her lip. He knew what was at stake now. Yet, there was no doubt or fear in him. Her heart slowed down. They returned to the couch.

They watched another movie and fell asleep. The Titans arrived back from surveillance around three in the morning. Robin came with them. Jason noisily complained, “the Hive?! Seriously for an evil criminal organization, you would think that they could up with a less lame name. I keep thinking honey is going to be thrown at me.” Conner stirred at the sound of them. He opened his eyes and saw M’gann laying on top of him. He had his arm across her body. He gently shook her shoulders to wake her. They both sat up slowly before the team entered the room.

Gar glanced at the time. “I’m really sorry that we came back so late.”

“It’s ok. Those things happen.” M’gann stood up. “I should be heading home now.”

Kory suggested, “it’s late. You can sleep here.”

“You can sleep in my room.” Conner meant it innocently. Rose gave him such an impish grin.

Gar quickly responded, “You could sleep in our guest room. I’ll show you where it’s at.”

Conner went to his room. He fell easily back to sleep. As he expected it was another Luthor dream. Lex learned about a young inventors’ competition. The grand prize was a full scholarship to an elite university. His project made it to the public demonstrations’ finals. Lex wanted to go.

His father derided the very idea of it. “Your invention if it can be called that isn’t good enough. You’ll only make a fool out of yourself again.” Lionel dismissed his son. “Benny, what event are you doing this weekend?”

“My club is selling pecan pies at the Kansas State Fair to raise money for Meals on Wheels. Last year, we raised two hundred dollars. This year, we are expecting to raise three hundred dollars.”

“That isn’t much. You obviously aren’t any good at making mo-“

“Shut up,” Lionel slapped Lex across his face. “Benny is a good boy. He and his many friends work hard to help others. They earn more money than you and charity case friend could ever make.”

“Uda saved three thousand dollars for our trip to Hong Kong.” Lex bragged. “She did that mopping floors and not by trying to sell inedible pies one weekend.”

Lionel slapped Lex again and ignored his son the rest of the evening. It didn’t bother him as much as not going to the inventor competition. “I got accepted to go. It’s not fair.” Lex moaned to Uda, when he came to visit her at her home. “Only two hundred students in the whole US were deemed worthy. Father won’t let me go.”

“Then go anyway,” Uda didn’t fully understand his problem.

“I can’t afford the trip to Massachusetts and the lodging.” She yanked up one of her floorboards and took out a wad of money. She gave it to Lex. He shook his hands, “You’re saving that for your trip.”

“It can wait.” Uda placed the money into his hand. ‘Your invention is amazing. I want you to go because I know that you’re a genius and you can do this.”

Her faith in him spurred Lex to sneak out of his house and head to Massachusetts. It was a dream come true. He won the grand prize. He gloated to his father. “I won the full scholarship to MIT, plus room and boarding. In a year from now, I won’t need you anymore. You pathetic old man!”

Lionel went to hit, but this time Lex grabbed his arm and stopped him. “I bumped into my accomplished sister during my trip. She was waiting tables at some dingy diner to pay for hair styling classes. She took mom’s new husband’s last name. Apparently, mom didn’t die in that car accident like you told us. She divorced you.” Lex shoved his father back. Lionel fell to the floor. “I guess they didn’t want to be associated with a lowly garbage man. Yes father, I discovered your secret despite your attempts to conceal it. You’re right. I’m not like you.”

“At least, I didn’t steal money. You stole my money.” Lionel attempted to defend himself.

Lex shook his head in disgust. “You keep clinging to your delusions. What should I expect from a man who lied for fourteen years about being a scientist and not a failure? You have no power over me, old man.” He felt powerful as he left his abusive father in the dust.

In an instant, Lex became helpless again. He drove out to see Uda. He wanted to share his victory with her. There was a police car and the local news’ van parked outside her house. An annoying reporter bugged him, “Were you classmates with the decease?”

“Who?”

“Uda Hale.”

Lex’s whole body went numb. He tried to enter the house, but the police wouldn’t let him. he stood there staring for a long time until Uda’s foster brother spotted him. He led Lex to the backyard swings and told him what happened. “These three guys with guns broke down our door and demanded three thousand dollars from Uda. She didn’t have that much money. They hit her, and then they shot her. They stole our tv before they ran out.”

The men were suspected drug dealers. The police concluded that Uda either worked for them or owed them money. Lex knew the police report was bias. They only thought that because her parents did drugs. It was a few days later. Lex was finally allowed inside the house and in her room. The foster brother gave Lex her Chinese book since he knew Uda would have wanted Lex to have it. Lex sat down on her bed and contemplated the injustice of it all. It irked him that they would be no further investigation. No one would ever know the true reason for the drug dealers coming here. Light flickered off something on the floor. He walked over to it. There was a student volunteer badge for a hospital on the floor. Uda loathed anything to do with needles. Lex knew who it really belonged to. It all added up. His anger burned into intense wrath.

Conner’s heart was still pounding as he spoke to Dick. “I want you to stop investigating Benny Bones’ death.”

“Why?” Dick spun his chair around.

“I don’t agree with what Lex did, but I don’t think he should go to prison for it. He has done tons of other bad stuff to go to prison for.”

“Alright.” Dick put a clause in it, “if you tell me the reason for the change of heart.”

“Benny stole drugs from the hospital for a few years. He kept some of the drugs for himself and sold the rest. The hospital started to suspect something, so he had to pull out. He still owed money to bad people. He became desperate and started stealing. He stole from family, friends and the school fundraiser. It wasn’t enough. When Lex mentioned his girlfriend’s money, Benny and his drug dealer friends came to collect it. They killed her.”

“And Lex felt guilty.” Dick figured it might be the only time Lex felt that way. He agreed to Conner’s request.

The troublesome memories faded into the background of Conner’s mind.


	5. Chapter 5

Conner strived to learn more about himself and others. As a clone, he tended to view himself as a copy of someone else. The problem with being a clone of two different people is that he didn’t know, who to follow. Superman saved people. Conner liked helping people too. Superman was bold and courageous. Conner found himself more cautious like Lex. He thankfully didn’t have Lex’ cold and calculating nature. Still, Conner didn’t know where he fit in. Most of the time, he trained with Kory or Donna. Today’s match was with Kory. It started off good. They practiced the maneuvers nice and slowly. Then, the sparring match turned intense and brutal. Kory came at him ferociously. In a flash, M’gann stepped in and tossed Kory off him. M’gann winced slightly. “Are you alright, Kory?”

Kory shook away the haze in her eyes. “I’m fine. That’s enough for today, Conner.” She hurried out of the training room.

 _“What was that all about?”_ Conner silently asked M’gann.

 _“The feud with her sister Blackfire is taking its’ toil on her.”_ M’gann headed out to meet with Gar.

Conner grabbed her arm. He saw her winced in pain again. “Did she hurt you?” Though, he didn’t recall Kory landing a single blow on her.

“Nope.”

His x-ray vision revealed that she was injured. “Who hurt you?”

 _“It’s nothing. My people heal fast.”_ M’gann assured him telepathically, while she said out loud. “No one. I just banged into a something by mistake. I’m strong, but not impervious to harm.”

 _“Who hurt you?”_ Conner repeated private.

M’gann didn’t want him to worry nor did she want to lie to him. “ _Fluxus was livid over his failed mission. He took his frustrations out on me, because he hates that I can lie to him. Since I am lying to him, I guess he is somewhat –“_

_“It isn’t right. He shouldn’t have hurt you.”_

She touched the top of his hand. _“I’m fine. I’ve had worse during basic training.”_

Conner didn’t want to think about that. “ _What are you lying to him about?”_

_“I’m not going to kill the guy.”_

_“Who?”_

_“Our mission is to kill –“_

“Hey guys,” Gar interrupted them. “Are you ready to play some Mario Kart? Wait, is everything ok?”

“Yup,” Conner released his grip on M’gann. They went over to the gaming console. Rachel joined them. It was the boys against the girls.

After an hour, Roy walked past them. Conner didn’t find Roy very friendly. He was a little curious about Roy’s tall friend. He hadn’t seen him before. He figured Gar knew the man.

It surprised him that M’gann knew him, “ _Mal Duncan.”_

 _“You know him?”_ Conner thought to her.

_“Yeah, he is here because of me. Well, actually it’s more Fluxus’ fault. We were all given missions to learn about the possible capabilities of our enemies. I spied on S.T.A.R. Labs, while Fluxus spied on Cadmus. When valuable cargo came along, he stole it. By doing so, he exposed himself and lost his alias at Cadmus. I called him out for not being careful enough and doing it solo. He got mad and later confronted me in the alley alone. I told him that he shouldn’t be doing it in public. Someone could be watching us. He became infuriated, when he realized that I was hiding something from. He didn’t know it was Mal’s thoughts.”_

_“That’s when he hurt you.”_

_“If I didn’t conceal his thoughts, Fluxus would have killed Mal.”_

_“What was in the cargo?”_

_“A few things, but only one thing that we truly needed…”_ M’gann was hesitative to admit. “Kryptonite.”

“ _Kryptonite hurts me.”_

“ _It’s not for you.”_

 _“Superman! Superman is your target!”_ Conner’s cart ran off the road.

“Hey, no distracting Conner to win.” Gar noticed Conner staring at M’gann.

“Sorry.” She secretly told Conner. _“No, he isn’t our target. He is a possible obstacle. Martian Manhunter is the target.”_

_“Why?”_

_“For the stupidest reason, he is a Green Martian.”_ He could sense her anger and frustration. _“Like they haven’t slaughtered enough people already. They have to hunt someone down in the middle of nowhere. I’m going to make sure Martian Manhunter isn’t so easy to kill.”_

_“How are you going to do that?”_

_“Sabotage. I’ve destroyed the stolen Kryptonite and kept them in the dark about certain members. Fluxus must have been so disappointed to break open that truck and discover the Kryptonite was burnt away by acid. With nothing to combat Superman, the Justice League should be able to defeat them. Once they’re gone, I’m safe to stay here on Earth and live a normal life.”_

Conner admired the idea of a normal life. After his failed dinner attempt, he understood it might be hard to accomplish. The meal didn’t look right, nor did it smell good. Most of the batter spattered on M’gann. He cleaned some of the food off her. “Sorry, I can’t believe that I can’t cook. Both Lex and Superman can cook.”

“Yeah, but you’re you.” It was one of the things that he loved about her. He wasn’t a thing or a clone to her.

Her blush was so cute. Conner touched her face and kissed. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him for a deeper kiss.

They didn’t notice Roy and Dick walking in until Roy cleared his throat. “Wow, bad timing.”

Conner and M’gann broke apart embarrassed. Despite the intrusion, things were going well for Conner. The team had been letting him go on missions. He helped defeat Blackfire and her minions. Suddenly, things changed. Eve Watson showed up at the tower. He rushed over to hug her. He pulled away as he became aware of her grave expression. “What’s wrong?”

“Cadmus has proceeded with Experiment 14, which is a clone with a hundred percent Superman’s DNA.” Eve informed the team. “There were some concerns about physical or mental deterioration. Dr. Dabney Donovan might have found a way to overcome them. If so, Cadmus will have a mind control weapon as powerful as Superman.”

The thought of it filled everyone with fear except Conner. They worked on a plan to prevent it. A powerful clone didn’t concern Conner as much. His guilty fear was this clone would be better than Conner. He would be purely good like Superman. He would fit in perfectly with the team, missions and life.

The team departed to infiltrate Cadmus. Mercy knew that they were coming. She planned for it. They would be her demonstration. Experiment 14 wasn’t her only project on display. Cadmus created three other super powered beings. The largest specimen was a giant called Blockbuster. Next to him was Shifter, who had DNA stolen from Beast Boy. The last project was Epiphany, who had some of Donna’s DNA. Experiment 14 was the main attraction. Mercy prided herself on it. “It’s 100% Superman’s DNA and 100% under our control.

“No, it’s not,” Rachel’s eyes bugged out. “It’s dangerous. Run away!”

Mercy disregarded her warning. She pushed the button on her handheld controller. Experiment 14, their so called perfect “Match” just smirked at Mercy. His eyes went red. She couldn’t figure the direction of his heat vision until she twisted her head. She was missing an arm. She shrieked and collapse to the ground. He bolted over and crushed the controller in his hand.

All the experiments were freed and began massacring everyone in sight. The Titans engaged them in combat. Match seemed to solely focus on Conner. The other Titans were too busy to help him. Conner didn’t want them to get hurt like Donna had been. He led Match away from the other. Conner couldn’t run to far. Match was stronger and faster. He pinned Conner down and wailed on him. He stopped briefly to kill some fleeing bystanders with his heat vision. A stranger stepped in to deflect his heat vision away with an odd spear. “I want you to live,” Match charged at her.

She knew that she shouldn’t get involve, but she didn’t want Conner and innocent people to die. M’gann had changed her outfit and turned her skin green. As Match came at her, she dodged and slashed him. The evil clone was startled by the sight of his own blood. “Magic,” she answered his unspoked question.

His deranged mind caused him to speak in opposites. “I like you.” Match thrusted at her. M’gann drew him away from the streets towards an abandon mall.

Conner wanted to rush after them. He needed a few moments to recoup. He brushed off Match’s skin flakes and looked around. Thankfully, Match left a trail of destruction for him to follow.

The abandon mall was an uphill battle for Match. M’gann kept ambushing him. As he would attempt to punch her back, she would either dodge it or phase through it. Her goal was to wear him down or knock him unconscious since she wanted to take him alive. It was working. Then, he got a lucky shot in before her. He knocked her, and she dropped the spear from her hands. Match retrieved the spear. He was about to pierce it through her, until Conner jumped and rammed into him. The clones duked it out. Match got the upper hand and started strangling Conner. M’gann grabbed her spear and knocked Match unconscious.

M’gann changed into her Megan form and checked on Conner. Once she saw that he was ok, she contacted S.T.A.R. Labs. Conner spotted a green liquid on her abdomen as she called the lab. Instantly, he realized it was her blood. He yanked his shirt off and pressed it up against her wound.

“I’ll be alright.” Her light headiness contradicted her. “I heal fast.” She became woozy.

He gently picked her up and carried her to Titan’s Tower. He brought her over to the hospital room. She shivered because the room reminded her of where her family was kept hostage. He took her to the couch instead. Conner held her close as he sat both of them down on the couch. “How can I help?”

“I just need to rest.” M’gann curled up on him.

Despite her assurance, he still counted each of her heartbeats.


	6. Chapter 6

A few days ago, Roy stormed out of Titans’ Tower in frustration. He had never really been one for complex mysterious. Dick had to admit the case seemed to be heading towards a dead end. Two impersonators were involved in two separate research companies for unknown purpose. The male impersonator was Cadmus employee Mickey Cannon. He left a trail of dead bodies in his theft of Cadmus’ cargo being transferred by armored truck. The female impersonator behaved more cautious and less violent. She created an identity instead of killing for it. She gave Mal Duncan the Guardian suit, which must have been in the Cadmus cargo heist. Reports stated that Luthor had previous possession of the suit. She also freely gave information about the Reach to Roy. Regardless, they both had some unknown agenda. There had to be some link between the two labs. S.T.A.R. Labs provided any possible information. On the other hand, Cadmus wasn’t as forth coming despite the obvious foe against them. Without a list of Cadmus’ projects, there was no way to compare it with S.T.A.R Lab’s projects for commonalities. He had hoped to consult with Superman about possible Luthor enemies who might be behind it. Superman declined to come. Bruce consulted with Dick instead.

“None of the usual super criminals fit this pair or their actions.” It was clear to see on Bruce’s face that he hated admitting to this. “They staked out both labs too long for a simple heist.”

“Especially since the female accomplice didn’t steal anything from S.T.A.R. Labs. The Cadmus theft might have been a crime of opportunity. Their real motive might be intel.”

“Possibly, I checked the corporate espionage angle and came up with nothing.” Bruce rubbed his chin. “The best theory is metahuman or superpower being angle.”

“Without Cadmus’ data, we can’t be conclusive.” There was the brick wall in the case. Dick spun his chair around accusingly. “Are you planning to take over the case?”

“I don’t see any reason –“

Gar entered the room. “Hey, I thought Superman was coming.”

“He had an urgent matter to contend to.” It was the polite code for refusing. Superman didn’t want to face the clone situation yet. Bruce still held onto hope that he would change his mind.

Gar accepted Bruce’s explanation. “I hope he comes soon. Conner could use his help.” He glanced at the monitor. “Dr. Oya from Timber Wolf.”

“Timber Wolf?” Dick was baffled. “You know her?”

“Sure, she is the actress who played Dr. Oya in the 80s tv show Timber Wolf. I thought she died.”

Dick pulled up an online article. “Yup, she did in a car accident a few years back.”

“The resemblance is uncanny,” Gar studied the image closely.

Bruce nudged Dick slightly and typed on the keyboard. “What about this?”

“The Fairy Queen from the old Wonderland movie.” Gar shook his hand. “The actress was… I forget her name. Anyway, Rita hated her. They worked on a movie together once.”

“I’ll look into this,” Bruce decided. “You purse the other lead.”

Dick was about to yell at him for ordering him around until he realized Bruce gave him the harder assignment. He should contact Eve Watson first for any intel. She doesn’t know or find anything. Dick knew that he would have to pry in Cadmus’ database. That would be deadly. Though, considering the other option that Donna mentioned, deadly isn’t always the worst thing.

She had mentioned a new situation after Bruce had left. “So, Roy told me in great detail how Conner and Megan had been making out in the kitchen. What are you going to do about it?”

Dick stretched in their gym. “They kissed. I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“Normally, it wouldn’t be for a young adult. Conner has a childlike mind stuck in a young man’s body with all the emotions and drives attached. You know you’re going to have to give him the ‘birds and the bees’ talk.” Donna watched Dick’s head sunk down. “You want to shove it off to someone else. Don’t you? Well, Gar has already fervently declined to do it.”

“You think I can con Bruce into doing it?”

Donna just walked away. She shook her head and laughed as she went. He knew she was right about Conner. He saw the footage of Conner and Megan’s kiss. Conner instigated it and often their holding hands. Dick would rather face a myriad of villains than one superpowered hormonal teenager.

It seemed Dick got his wish, or at least, a brief distraction. Cadmus had created another clone of Superman. The plan was to take the clone down easy. When he saw Rachel gasping in terror, he understood how bad it was. He just couldn’t have known the full extend of it. Mercy’s severed arm, dozens of dead Cadmus’ agents and four out of control supervillains was the stuff of nightmares. As Conner drew away the Superman DNA clone, Dick concentrated on the reinforcements. They needed to be dealt with fast. It was going to be a brutal fight with collateral damages. Dick attempted to contact the Watchtower for help. Strangely, they were unavailable. Dick prayed that they could defeat their foes in time to save Conner from the crazed clone.

To his surprise, Conner took down the clone himself. He even contacted S.T.A.R. Labs to contain the unconscious clone before he returned to the Titan’s Tower. They had discussed the possibility of capturing and detaining the clone. Dick didn’t go into much detail about how to do it. Conner could have a Superman memory about it. Dick seriously doubted it. The others didn’t even think about it. They were relieved like Conner that they were all ok. Not everything was ok. Dick still couldn’t contact the Watchtower. He was about to grab Kory and Donna to go check on the league, when he finally made contact. “What happen? We lost your signal.”

Flash appeared on the screen. “One nasty fight with White Martians. If it wasn’t for the fact that they underestimated Batman and Superman, who saw through their mental illusion, we would have been goners. We captured all the White Martians except for one.”

“White Martians?”

“Apparently, they’re the evil cousins of Green Martians. So, is everything alright with you, guys?” There was a hint of concern in Flash’s voice.

“We had a nasty fight and overcame it too.”

“We knew you would. Still, if you ever need us, don’t hesitate to call. We’ll be there in a flash.”

They said their goodbyes. Dick sat there staring at the screen as he processed the evil Martians attack on the league. He recalled Bruce’s old warning to him concerning J’onn J’onzz. They would have been masters at concealment and have an arsenal of superpowers. They have one weakness fire. Fire isn’t exactly the safest material to use. Dick thought about this as he went back to the other. The team was unwinding from their recent battle. Rose ordered takeout.

“This isn’t pizza,” Gar complained. “Victories call for pizza.”

Rose grabbed a dish of Mexican food. “Diversify.”

Gar and Rose continued to argue, while Kory took some food to the living room.

Donna, Conner and Megan were sitting on the couch watching tv. Conner had run into Megan during his battle with the evil clone. He brought her here for safety. Dick followed behind Kory. Donna gave him a sly glance as he entered the room. Dick knew it meant the “lovebirds” situation. The “lovebirds” was Rose’s nickname for Conner and Megan’s relationship. On cue, they were gazing into each other’s eyes again. He ignored them as he sat down to watch tv.

O’Donne’s restaurant and bar’s commercial was on. Dick turned his head aside. He liked the place and felt it deserved a better commercial. After years of airing the stupid thing, he was beginning to doubt they would ever make a new one. Thankfully, the news came on next. Of course, they reported on the Justice League’ latest battle. He turned his head away again out of boredom. It was doubtful that they were going to offer any new information. By random chance, Dick caught sight of Megan holding her breath. It was such a tiny movement. His training as Batman’s sidekick taught to discern for slight body movement and understand the emotion linked to them. She was nervous or frightened of something. Conner’s expression confirmed this. Unlike her, he didn’t try very hard to hide his emotions. The way that Conner looked at her was almost if they were conversing with each other. “ _What if this was the case?”_ Dick wondered. “ _Telepathy, super strength and_ …” Conner discarded shirt had been partly tucked under the couch. It had some blood and green paint stains on it. “ _Not paint, more blood,”_ Dick deduced. “ _They didn’t impersonate those. They shapeshifted. Telepathy, super strength, shapeshifting.”_ He summed it up as he looked at Megan. _“You’re Dr. Oya.”_ Megan slowly rose to her feet. Dick braced himself for a fight. She slowly crept around the couches and headed for the door. Conner walked behind her confused.

“What’s going on?” Donna observed Dick standing there in a defensive poise.

“She’s a White Martian.”

No one understood what that meant except for Kory. Her hands immediately started to glow. She shot at Megan. The White Martian dodged the shot. Megan transformed into her true monstrous form. Conner used his super breath to blow Kory back. He grabbed Megan’s claw hand. “Everyone, stop fighting!” He gestured with his arm to his team to halt.

Conner couldn’t give an order to the team. Dick glanced at Donna and Kory, who were ready to fight. Gar and Rachel seemed against it. Rose was leaning either way. Dick chose the side of caution. It was also the side less likely to trash their house. “Alright, how about you, guys, tell us what’s going?” Since Conner wasn’t startled by her appearance, he must know more about it.

“It’s ok,” Conner touched Megan’s face. His warm hand calmed her down and turned back into her human form. “You can tell them the truth.”

She told them everything about her mission. Whether Dick believed this M’gann Morzz was entirely depended upon the Justice League. He thought the entire team, or a large portion of the team would come. Only Bruce arrived at the roof top to meet with Dick. “Where is everyone else?”

“J’onn should be here soon once all the protective gear is made.” Bruce gave Dick an odd headband. “It keeps the Martians out of your mind.”

Dick quickly put it on. “Are you planning to take her into custody?”

“I hope not.”

While Dick was in shock over Bruce’s remark, the rest of the Titans were still sitting in the living room giving M’gann mostly awkward looks. “So, you read minds. Then, you must know all our secrets.” Rose blurted out.

M’gann tucked down her head and peeked up at Gar. “When you turn back into your human form, are you stuck being naked?”

“Pretty much.”

“I can fix that.” M’gann tugged on her shirt. “This isn’t my skin. My people wear a special kind of organic clothes, which can shapeshift under mental commands. I could tell it to transform under certain conditions. It should work, though you would be stuck with one outfit.”

“It beats being naked.”

“I’ll get you a leaf after this is all…” M’gann twisted her head. Bruce and Dick entered the room. “I don’t know where Zum went. He would have already realized that I’m a traitor. J’onn didn’t lie. Most White Martians are weaker than our green brethren telepathically. He couldn’t have known about me being a weird freak.”

Bruce sighed at her. “Let’s discuss this as a verbal communication now.” Bruce grabbed a chair and sat near her. “Ok, how did you come to know that J’onn Jonzz was here on earth? Through television?”

“A Martian named Ma’alefaak told the High Council of him. The council gave us the assignment.”

“What would happen if your mission wasn’t successful?”

“It is successful as far as the council knows. They were informed of it, and that we all died to accomplish the mission.”

“So, you were the one that set the ship to auto destruct.” Bruce figured, “the Justice League defeats your team, and you stay here with the Titans. Was that your plan?”

“Well, I’ll stay on Earth.” M’gann amended.

As quiet as a whisper, J’onn approached. He was tall, green and bore a grimace. “She should be tossed in a cell with the others.”

“She’s still a child.” Bruce disagreed.

J’onn spoke to M’gann briefly in the Martian tongue. The only human that understood it was Conner since M’gann was mentally interpreting it for him. J’onn touched the side of her head and deeply scanned her mind. He was just supposed to read her memories. Her mind was stronger than his. He ended up sharing some of his memories too. His grimace faded. “You aren’t fully trained, young one.”

“My mother died before she could finish my training.”

“I can help you out with that soon. First, we must find Zum before he escalates this battle to a possible full fledge war.” That got everyone’s attention. “If the attack unit fails, the White Martian High Council would send a whole battalion at us.”

“If he can transmit a message to them,” Bruce gestured for them to head out.

Dick stopped them on the roof top. “What about the Martian girl?”

“Right now, she is a target of Zum’s.” Bruce watched J’onn fly away. “After that, it’s up to you what you want done with her.”

It felt like the ticking time bomb. Where was Zum going to strike next? Kill J’onn J’onzz, free the remaining White Martians of his team, kill the traitor or find a transmitter. Dick knew the Titans were stuck in the middle of another deadly mess.


	7. Chapter 7

Even with J’onn’s confirmation, M’gann wasn’t entirely welcomed by the Titans. Gar, Donna and Kory didn’t want her here. Donna and Gar loathed the lack of privacy with having a mind reader. Kory, Rose and Rachel had a somewhat idea of telepathy. They accepted it. Kory knew the dangers of the White Martians. She voiced her concerns to Dick and suggested to get rid of M’gann once Zum was caught. Dick struggled to remain neutral. It had been hard with M’gann’s true form looking like a horror movie monster. Conner was the only one, who wasn’t unnerved by her appearance.

Donna wanted more reassurance and tossed her lasso at the Martian. M’gann picked it up as a sign of good faith. “Are you sure there is nothing else you can tell use?” Donna glared at her. “A way of tracking your weapons or seeing through your disguises?”

“My people have been stealth warriors for a very long time. Our weapons are designed to never be found. As for our shapeshifting abilities, they’re difficult to discern.” M’gann pointed to her hand. “If he can assume someone’s appearance exactly even down their fingerprints. We could even fool most of your blood tests. Though, we would need a sample of their blood to touch in order to transform down to a cellular level. We can’t maintain that for long.”

“What about your base of operations for your team?” Dick questioned.

“It was mostly our ship, which I blew up and our apartment.” She shook her head. “There wouldn’t be anything left behind that you could use to find Zum.”

“We should still give it a look.” Dick reasoned.

“I should come with you.”

“Nay,” Dick refused. “We’ll go on our own.”

“Ok,” M’gann accepted his decision. “Could you please bring back my potted plant?”

Dick agreed and jotted down her apartment address. He, Kory, Rachel and Rose drove out to the apartment, while the other remained at the tower.

Gar may have been uncomfortable with her telepathy. He decided to try to bridge the gap with M’gann with Conner’s sake. He could see how crazy Conner was for her. “So, how do these clothes work? How do you take them off? Do they burrow into your skin or go invisible?”

“No, they’re mildly sticky at most, when they coil up to the size of a half a dollar on your skin. The clothes aren’t exactly invisible. They go into a camouflage mod like me.” M’gann briefly demonstrated it. “You probably wouldn’t be able to see it unless you know to look. The best bet would be to feel for it if you want to take it off.”

“Are these clothes alive?”

“Yes, they’re not intelligent. Communication is very basic… Oh no, my ship! He’s after my ship. You have to contact the others.” M’gann jumped up panicking.

Donna waved her arms for her to calm down. “You blew up your ship.”

“No, their ship,” M’gann corrected. “I would never harm her. Zum might have realized the bioship followed me here. She wouldn’t obey him. Still, if he can find her, he could force the ship to send a message home.” M’gann tore off a sticky note and wrote down, “here are the coordinates to my bioship. You need to prepare a large fire around her. It won’t hurt her, but fire is deadly for my people.” Gar was hesitative to take it. “Please, my ship and every life on Earth is endanger. You and Donna go to my ship. Conner and I will rush over to the aquarium.”

“Wait, why there?”

“Bioships are similar to certain plants and aquatic mammals here. Anyway, he is going to need to triangulate the signal to find her. There isn’t much time. We must run. NOW!”

Krypton went with Gar and Donna to the bioship. Conner and M’gann entered the largest aquarium in San Francisco. The place was closed, so they had to quietly break in. “He’s here.” She whispered to Conner. She didn’t need to. There were blood trails leading to dead employees. “He’s close.” The place was dark. He listened for Zum’s breathing and heartbeat. Once, he homed in on the area, he compared it to M’gann camouflage. There was a faint outline. Conner punched him out of camouflage mod.

It was two against one. However, Zum had been a seasoned warrior. He phased through Conner’s blows flawlessly and used the surrounding to his advantage. Shards of glass were hurled at M’gann, while he attempted to drown Conner in the tank. Zum underestimated him because of Conner lack of combat prowess. Conner devised a plan and maneuver him back. All his punches missed. The last swing left Conner open for a hit. As Zum’s body became solid, he prepared to slam Conner to the floor. He grasped his chest in pain. Zum hadn’t noticed the large glass shard that was now inside his body. Conner helped M’gann up as the police rushed in.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?”

Conner pointed to his shirt. “I’m Superboy, and this is… Miss Martian. We vanquished this villain.” He glanced at her. _“Sorry, I could think of anything else.”_

 _“It’s ok. I love it.”_ M’gann thought back to him. She had a superhero name and was part of a team. Finally, she didn’t feel as lonely anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> For more information, please go to https://aurora-light-blog.tumblr.com/


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